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Social Democratic Party
Not to be confused with the Social Democratic Party (Cobura). The Social Democratic Party (SDP), originally known as the Democratic Liberal Party, is a party in the Federal Republic of Solentia. Among other international organizations it is a member of the International Liberal Democrats. History The Era of the Democratic Liberal Party When the SDP (then known as the Democratic Liberal Party) arrived on the political scene in 2526 Solentia was dominated by conservative parties. However, the SDP's commitment to democracy and social justice resonated with many Solentians, most prominently in the state of Fuwan. In the first election the SDP participated in, the election of March 2528, it gained nearly a quarter of the seats with four other parties contending. In March 2531 an SDP candidate became the first Solentian to be inaugurated First Minister (the office had been renamed during the previous term). Demonstrating the party's commitment to democracy, one of its first orders of business during this first term was to propose an amendment to end the restriction that prevented anyone other than the First Minister from proposing a cabinet. In a similar vein the SDP's first cabinet proposal included all parties with elected representatives and made an apportionment of seats based in part on the Sainte-Lagüe formula. It wasn't long after the inauguration that the SDP proposed legislation to end all segregation in Solentia. The bill passed unanimously. News Democratic Liberal Party resurrected as Social Democratic Party (The Harbinger March 2606) Halion -- Speculations became certainties today, when Oba Awolowo, former alderman of the Halion city council, announced to a crowd of thousands that the Democratic Liberal Party had been reformed as the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Upon being asked why the party's name had been changed Awolowo said, "Our party has always put democracy before economics; therefore it's important to have a party name that proclaims the primacy of politics." Awolowo was given a standing ovation when she completed her speech, but not everyone in the vicinity was pleased. Jerry Dobson of Solentians United for the Lord and the Children (SULC) said, "members may not call themselves liberals anymore, but I know what they are -- and so does the Lord." Landmark Civil Rights Legislation Passes in Senate (Queer Voice December 2526) Halion -- Senators in the Republic's capital signed a new piece of legislation today that marks the first time legislators have attempted to legislate protections of the rights of intersex people, people who were not unambiguously identified as male or female at birth. The law makes it possible for intersex people to adopt, to have the same marriage rights as non-intersex people, and to choose to forego unwanted sexual reassignment surgery. "We were apprehensive about this, but it seems a lot of our worrying was for naught," said Sydney Dawson of the Intersex Society of Solentia (ISS). "Senators from parties on both the left and the right wanted their names on civil rights legislation." Members of the ISS will be celebrating on Friday night at Emi's, an establishment that bills itself as a non-alcoholic bar and is open to all ages. The ISS has extended an invitation to the three parties that supported the bill -- the People Party, the Independent Party, and the Democratic Liberal Party -- to send speakers to the event. New Liberal Party Founded (The Harbinger May 2526) Halion -- Amid cheers and roaring applause at its founding meeting de jure a new party formed today calling itself The Democratic Liberal Party (DLP). "DLP stands firmly in the tradition of social justice liberalism," says Lucretia Paine, who hopes to one day be the nation's head of government. "But it is also a modern party, basing its platform on the most recent conclusions of voting and social choice theory." Not everyone in the vicinity of the Condorcet Center, the party's chosen meeting place, found the party's formation to be a cause of celebration. "Our republic is what it is today because of the dedication of devoutly religious Solentians," said area minister Jerry Dobson. "I wouldn't pay these liberals any mind." When asked whether the introduction of a new liberal party into government would improve workers' standard of living, Jennifer Jones, general secretary of the local branch of the Industrial Union of Transportation Workers, said, "It couldn't hurt." Reports Preliminary Findings on the Effects of At-Large Voting in Municipal Elections A Report from the Office of Johana Nash, DLP Shadow Minister of Internal Affairs 1. At-Large Voting At-large voting is a multi-seat election method. Under at-large voting each voter receives a number of votes equal to the number of seats that are to be filled. The threshold of exclusion in these elections is a majority; this entails that no candidate is guaranteed a seat under at-large voting unless they receive more than 50% approval. 2. The Use of At-Large Voting in Municipal Elections The use of at-large voting in municipal elections is on the rise in the state of Tesuhen. Our initial findings suggest that this increase correlates with recent national legislation to end segregation. This in turn suggests that the intent of this legislation is to prevent ethnic minorities from winning seats in municipal elections. In 2493 Tesuhen gave 51.78% of its support to the Solentian Radical Nationalist Party, the party that in the following year proposed the legislation that made segregation legal. 3. Recommendation We recommend that the Democratic Liberal Party continue to investigate this matter, and should it be determined that our initial findings have merit, propose legislation that would prohibit or restrict the use of at-large voting. Significant Proposed Legislation Draft of Children's International Protection Agreement (CIPA) (OOC: This is a draft version and as such may have serious lacunae. Please do not ratify until the final version is complete. If you have OOC comments, please post them to the Talk/Discussion page.) Summary: The nations that sign this agreement will work together to prosecute people who cross national borders in an act of harming children or to escape the consequences of harming children. - - - - - - The Agreement Proper 1. Minors For the purposes of this agreement a 'minor' is a 'human person who is below the age of seventeen (17)'. 2. Children's International Protection Agreement Law The Children's International Protection Agreement Law (CIPAL) shall be defined as the following: (a) No one may carry a minor outside the borders of a nation, if (1) the minor is a citizen of a nation bound to this agreement and either the nation that is a point of origin or the nation that is a destination is bound to this agreement, or (2) both the nation that is the point of origin and the nation that is a destination are bound to this agreement, and (b) No one may leave a nation for the purpose of escaping indictment or prosecution for a criminal act that had the potential to do serious harm to a minor, if (1) the minor is a citizen of a nation bound to this agreement and the scene of the criminal act is in a nation bound to this agreement, the nation that is the point of origin is bound to this agreement, or the nation that is the destination is bound to this agreement; (2) the scene of the criminal act and the point of origin are in different nations, each of which is bound to this agreement; or (3) the nation that is the point of origin and the nation that is the destination are bound to this agreement. 3. Suspects and Alleged Victims For the purposes of this agreement (a) a 'suspect' is 'person suspected of having violated CIPAL', and (b) an 'alleged victim' is a 'person who has allegedly been made a victim through another person's violation of CIPAL'. 4. The Children's International Protection Agreement Court This agreement establishes a Children's International Protection Agreement Court (CIPAC). Each nation bound to this agreement must designate a space within its borders to be a CIPAC courthouse and may appoint as many as three (3) justices to CIPAC. Together the justices will preside over CIPAC. 5. Trial in Court of the Nation Where the Suspect Was Apprehended If a suspect is apprehended in a nation bound to this agreement, they will be tried in the court system of the nation where the apprehension occurred if (a) the suspect is a citizen of said nation; (b) the alleged victim is a citizen of said nation; © the suspect is allegedly attempting to escape prosecution for a criminal offense committed against a minor in said nation; or (d) said nation's policy on extradition prohibits it from extraditing the suspect to (1) the nation where the suspect has citizenship; (2) the nation where the alleged victim has citizenship; (3) the nation where, if the suspect is allegedly attempting to escape indictment or prosecution for a criminal offense against a minor, the criminal offense allegedly occurred; or (4) the nation of the point of origin in the alleged violation of CIPAL. 6. Trial in Court of the Nation of the Suspect's Citizenship If nothing in Article 5 specifies what is to be done and the suspect has citizenship in a nation bound to this agreement, then the suspect will be tried in a nation that is bound to this agreement and where the suspect has citizenship. If more than one nation fits this description, the site of the trial will be disambiguated according to Articles 7, 8, and 9. 7. Trial in Court of the Nation of the Alleged Victim's Citizenship If nothing in Article 5 or 6 unambiguously specifies what is to be done and the alleged victim has citizenship in a nation bound to this agreement, then the suspect will be tried in a nation that is bound to this agreement and where the alleged victim has citizenship. If more than one nation fits this description, the site of the trial will be disambiguated according to Articles 8 and 9. 8. Trial in Court of the Nation Where the Original Offense Allegedly Occurred If nothing in Article 5, 6, or 7 unambiguously specifies what is to be done and the suspect is allegedly attempting to escape indictment or prosecution for a criminal offense against a minor in a nation bound to this agreement, then the suspect will be tried in the court system of the nation where the original criminal offense allegedly occurred. If more than one nation fits this description, the site of the trial will be disambiguated according to Article 9. 9. Trial in Court of the Nation of the Point of Origin If nothing in Article 5, 6, 7, or 8 unambiguously specifies what is to be done and the suspect's alleged point of origin in violating CIPAL was in a nation bound to this agreement, then the suspect will be tried in the court system of the nation of the suspect's alleged point of origin. If more than one nation fits this description, CIPAC will determine which nation will host the trial. 10. Contention If a nation is to host a trial, and another nation bound to this agreement contends that the nation does not have jurisdiction, a preliminary hearing will be held in CIPAC, which will determine the proper location of the trial in accordance with this agreement and applicable local, national, and international laws. 11. Exceptions If Article 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 makes a nation the host of the trial, said nation may in accordance with its own laws make an exception and extradite the suspect to a nation where the alleged victim has citizenship or, if the alleged victim has citizenship in a nation not bound to this agreement, to any willing nation bound to this agreement to be tried by CIPAC or a national court. 12. Hiatus If the number of nations bound to this agreement ever falls below two (2), then CIPAC shall go on hiatus until the number is again at least two (2), at which time CIPAL will go back into effect. 13. The Rights of Suspects Suspects have the rights described below: (a) If a suspect stands at a preliminary hearing in CIPAC, then before they leave the cout room they will be told (1) how many instances of violations of CIPAL in regards to which CIPAC has found there to be probable cause and (2) what jurisdiction they will be tried in; (b) No person shall be detained for CIPAC without having the irrevocable right to submit a writ of habeas corpus; © No person shall be found guilty in CIPAC without the agreement of a majority of CIPAC's justices; (d) Each person who stands before CIPAC at a preliminary hearing has the right to request that no trial be held, and if CIPAC finds that there is no probable cause or that gross violations of the rights described herein has made probable cause impossible to ascertain, CIPAC may dismiss the case. 14. Limitations No nation is bound to this agreement except those that have agreed to it. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, CIPAC may not require a nation bound to this agreement to extradite a person in violation of the nation's own laws on extradition. This agreement was created in an effort to reach compromise that we may offer protection to vulnerable people who heretofore had little or none. We recognize that there are acts that warrant criminalization that are not made criminal by this agreement. We also recognize that there are vulnerable people who are fully deserving of protection but are not protected by this agreement. We exhort all nations to make further international agreements and national laws as necessary to insure safety for all the most vulnerable people of Terra. Intersex People's Bill of Rights (2526) Let 'intersex person' refer to a 'human being whom a medical doctor has identified as having ambiguous genitalia at birth'. Whereas, intersex persons are persons equal to females and males and deserving of the same rights, and Whereas, many intersex persons are at birth assigned the gender female when they feel more comfortable identifying as male or assigned the gender male when they feel more comfortable identifying as female, Therefore be it resolved that no intersex person will suffer surgical alteration in order to be assigned the appearance of a female or a male except with the recommendation of at least one (1) medical doctor who deems the surgery necessary for physical well-being or with informed consent after the intersex person's attainment of adulthood, Be it further resolved that all laws that allow adoption only if it's by a couple consisting of a female and a male will hereby be repealed, and Be it further resolved that all laws that allow marriage only if it's between a female and a male will hereby be repealed. Out of Character (OOC) Information Inspiration for the Democratic Liberal Party's Platform (OOC) Majority Rule and Proportional Representation The platform of the SDP is for the most part based on the real world importance of majority rule and proportional representation, as shown in the works of real world voting theorists. When it comes to selecting a method for choosing between two options, there are at least three reasons to prefer majority rule: # Majority rule is the only such method that is fair. That is, it privileges neither a particular option nor a particular set of voters. (An example of the former is supermajoritarian decision rules. For example, in the US at least two thirds of the representatives in each house must vote "yes" to override a President's veto of a bill; this privileges the decision to not pass the bill. An example of the latter is dictatorship, which privileges one voter in a fairly obvious way.) (May proved this aspect of majority rule in 1952.) # Majority rule maximizes people's chances of getting outcomes they voted for and not getting outcomes they voted against. (Rae and Taylor each argued for this in 1969.) # Contrary to conventional wisdom, majority rule is the method that maximizes the likelihood that a minority can build a coalition to overturn an unwanted decision (hence, it offers more protection to minorities). (McGann proved this in 2004, see the links section below.) On the face of it this has little relevance to any decisions ordinarily made in Particracy. However, when one takes into account that systems of checks and balances (e.g., the federal system of the US) are implicitly supermajoritarian, then it's obvious that these considerations are significant. A party that aims to maximize fairness and protect minorities will do what it can to insure that decisons made by majority rule are not hindered by a system of external checks and balances. Of course, majority rule only works when choosing one alternative. What do we do when we need to elect a legislature with 100 seats or more? The system that follows from the principle of political equality is proportional representation (PR). (Hout and McGann proved this in 2004.) In many important respects then the nations that are the most democratic are those that have a parliament elected by a PR rule and that make decisions exclusively by majority rule. Nations like this tend to offer a lot in the way of social programs. Given these observations, nations of this sort approach the ideals of social liberals (or just liberals, as they are known in the US) and social democrats. It should be noted that given their benefits, majority rule and proportional representation should appeal to people with a wide range of political viewpoints -- not just social democrats. However, given that social democrats have historically supported the primacy of politics, social democracy seemed like a good match. Many of the SDP's ministers or minister candidates have the last name and first initial of real world voting theorists, especially those who have contributed to our understanding of majority rule, and real world politicians, especially social democrats. Links Emi Koyama's Web Site :The rights of intersex people, women, disabled people, sex workers, and more. Intersex Society of North America The Long FAQ on Liberalism :Steve Kangas' classic. "The Tyranny of the Super-Majority" :McGann's 2004 paper that argues that majority rule should be preferred over supermajority decision rules. Includes a proof that majority rule is better at helping minorities overturn unwanted decisions. Category:International Liberal Democrats Member Parties Category:Political parties in Solentia Category:Solentia Category:Politics of Solentia